The work on this project involves a number of studies concerned with the ways in which rearing environments can be described by variations in the social ecology (especially parental beliefs, values, and practices), and the effects of differences in these domains on children's development. In one ongoing study, researchers are attempting to assess specific maternal, paternal, and child attributions about one another in order to identify the extent to which attributions or expectations shape the way that parents and children interact, with particular focus on the development of aggressive behavior. Mothers and sons interact more aggressively when they have negative attributions of one another, and recent analyses suggest that maternal and filial attributions affect future aggressive behavior. In a second longitudinal study, gender differences in the self-perceptions of 7th to 12th graders are being assessed so that researchers can explore the antecedents and correlates of different styles of self-perception in adolescence.